Duck derails statue of steam train designer

Not since the announcement of HS2 has Britain’s railway community seen such controversy. There have been impassioned letters, mass resignations and, most of all, some exceedingly nasty things said about ducks.

Now the matter has gathered a head of steam. The question is, how should Sir Nigel Gresley, designer of the Flying Scotsman, be best remembered? More specifically, should a statue of Gresley — who also designed the Mallard and, coincidentally, bred mallards — include a statue of a duck? Or would the inclusion“demean his dignity”?

The statue, planned for King’s Cross Station, is due to be unveiled on the 75th anniversary of Gresley’s death, in April 2016. In the original design Hazel Reeves, the sculptor, included a small bronze mallard. However, after speaking to…